Greeting card display device

ABSTRACT

Greeting card display device that simulates Christmas tree when extended, and can be folded generally flat for storage. Device has crown portion having hinged card holders extending radially therefrom, pockets on card holders to accept cards for display. Cylindrical trunk portion has upper end with axial slots to accept card holders, and lower end with axial slots to accept leg portions. Card holders are hinged together by staggered integral hinges or are secured together by spring clip passing through card holder slots in register with each other. Leg portions are flat sheet members with compatible slots, or bent wire members having fingers to grip crown portion and legs to contact ground.

United States Patent [1 1 Morrison [451 Mar. 19, 1974 GREETING CARDDISPLAY DEVICE [76] Inventor: Alexander Robert Morrison, 358 E. pmlnaryRem 63rd Ave., Vancouver, British jmstam 9 afi g 0 Columbia, CanadaJciltlorsney, gent, 0r zrmrian o0 wen J.

e [22] Filed: Mar. 5, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 337,938 ABSTRACT Greeting carddisplay device that simulates Christmas tree when extended, and can befolded generally flat for Storage Device has Crown portion having hingedn card holders extending rad1ally therefrom, pockets on [58] Flow ofSearch 40/124 1242 6 3 3 card holders to accept cards for display.Cylindrical trunk portion has upper end with axial slots to accept 56 Rf d card holders, and lower end with axial slots to accept 1 e erencesleg portions. Card holders are hinged together by stag- UNITED STATESPATENTS gered integral hinges or are secured together by spring2,865,122 12/l958 Clawson 40/124 clip passing through card holder slotsin register with 3 12/1959 Meyer each other. Leg portions are flat sheetmembers with 3-04O'459 6/1962 Marcy compatible slots, or bent wiremembers having fingers 3470641 10/1969 Meyer to grip crown portion andlegs to contact ground. 3.483.742 l2/l969 Murray 3,553,871 l/l97lBenchley 40/145 10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAR 1 s 1974 4 3;797', 149

sum 1 or 2 PATENTEDMAR 19 I974 3.797149 sum 2 nr 2 1 GREETING CARDDISPLAY DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Theinvention relates to a display device, particularly adapted for but notlimited to displaying Christmas cards.

2. Prior Art A common problem associated with the Christmas season is indisplaying Christmas cards in the home. Most cards are designed to standupright on horizontal surfaces, but such an arrangement involves muchwork in arranging cards, for instance after household cleaning, or whenthe cards have fallen over after being disturbed, for example by adraft. 7

Christmas card display devices are known, such as those shown in U.S.Pat. No. 2,447,856 issued to Hazelton in 1948 and U.S. Pat. No.2,865,122 issued to Clawson in I958. Such devices function adequately,but cards displayed thereon cannot be read easily, .and often assume anuntidy display. Also such devices do not fold into a small storage areaand thus are inconvenient for storage during the remainder of the year.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention reduces difficulties of the priorart by providing a Christmas card display device which holds the cardsneatly in rows when assembled, thus facilitating the reading of thecards, and one which can be assembled and disassembled within a fewminutes and when disassembled can be folded easily and assumes a thin'flat shape.

One embodiment of the invention includes a crown portion having aplurality of generally triangular shaped planar card holders havingpockets to accept cards. Each holder extends radially in a respectivevertical plane from an inner portion thereof adjacent a central axis ofthe device, to a downwardly and outwardly sloping outer portion. Eachcard holder is inclined at an angle to adjacent card holders to form thecrown portion which simulates a crown portion of a tree. The cardholders are secured at the central axis by staggered integral hinges orby a spring clip passing through slots of the inner portions in registerwith each other. A generally cylindrical trunk portion has a series ofperipherally spaced axial slots at an upper end thereof, each slotaccepting a respective card holder. The trunk portion has fourperipherally spaced axial slots to accept leg portions, each leg portionhaving a pair of opposite leg elements which extend radially withinvertical planes from the trunk portion and support the device generallyvertically.

A detailed disclosure following, related to drawings, describedembodiments of the invention, which invention is capable of expressionin structure other than that particularly described and illustrated. 2

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment ofa display device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective showing hinge means and card holdingmeans of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a simplified fragmented section in a horizontal plane throughthe device, some portions being omitted,

FIG. 4 is a fragmented elevation of a portion of a hinge,

FIG. 5 is a perspective of a trunk portion of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a leg portion of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a fragmented section on a pocket of the device,

FIG. 8 is a simplified fragmented section in a horizontal plan throughan alternative crown portion, some portions being omitted,

FIG. 9 is a fragmented section in a vertical plane on a central axis ofthe portion of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a leg element of an alternative trunkportion,

FIG. 11 is a section in a vertical plane on the alternative trunkportion, showing one leg element fitted.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE FIGS. 1, 2 AND 3 With reference to FIG. 1, agreeting card display device 10 according to the invention has a crownportion 12 having a generally vertical central axis 13, and a trunkportion 14 having a central axis 15, the axes being aligned. The crownportion has a plurality of generally triangular-shaped planar cardholders, designated 17 through 22 in FIG. 3. The card holder 17 extendsradially in a vertical plane from an inner portion 24 to a downwardlyand outwardly extending outer portion 26, outer edges of which areshaped so as to produce an outline resembling a silhouette of aChristmas tree. The remaining holders similarly extend in respectivevertical plane, each card holder being inclined at an angle to adjacentcard holders, a typical angle 28 between the holders 17 and 18 beingabout as shown in FIG. 3. Clearly the angle is dependent on the numberof card holders, which can be varied, but six card holders has beenfound to be suitable so that the crown portion simulates a tree whenviewed horizontally from any direction.

As also shown in FIG. 2, each card holder has a plurality of pocketsprovided on each face thereof, typical pockets 30 being shown on bothfaces of the card holder 18. Similar pockets 32 are shown on an opposedface of the card holder 19, the pockets 30 being staggered relative tothe pockets 32 as shown. When the crown portion is folded for storagethere is negligible interference between staggered pockets, thuspermitting relatively compact folding of the crown portion. The pocketsand folding are described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sector portion 34 has a pair of edges 36 and 37inclined at an angle equal to the angle 28, the edges diverging from asector apex adjacent the central axis of the crown portion. The edge 36is hinged to the card holder l8'and the opposite edge 37 is in contactwith the adjacent card holder 17 so that the sector portion spaces thecard holders apart, restricting the card holders against relativehinging. Similar sector portions can be provided between adjacentremaining panels, the sector portions being folded flat against arespective card holder for storage.

With reference to FIG. 3 only, the crown portion 12 includes first,second and third crown panels 39, 40 and 41, each panel having twointegral card holders. The second panel 40 is planar and is sandwichedbetween the first and third panels, the three panels being securedtogether at central portions thereof. The first and third panels arefolded along the central portions so that the card holders of each panelare inclined to each other at the angle 28, which angle, as aforesaid,is approximately 60. The first and third panels are hinged to the secondpanel, a suitable hinge 44 for the panel 41 only being described withreference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4

The hinge 44 is spaced symmetrically about the axis 13 and has twoparallel rows of spaced longitudinal slits, namely slits 51 and 52 ofrow 54 and slits S and 56 of row 57. The slits are spaced equally fromthe axis 13 and are staggered relative to each other, a slit in one rowbeing connected to a slit in the opposite row by a transverse slit,which slit is bisected by the axis 13. Thus adjacent ends of the slits51 and 52 are joined to the slit 55 by a pair of parallel transverseslits 59 and 60. The slits form integral staggered hinged flapsextending outwards from inner portions of each card holder, two suchadjacent flaps 62 and 63 being shown. The flaps are secured to thesecond panel by a plurality of staples 65, or joined by other means asrequired. The rows of slits are spaced a few inches from the upper andlower ends of the crown panel and the panel is folded along the centreportion adjacent the ends to provide simple hinging at opposite ends ofeach card holder.

FIGS. 5 and 6 Referring to FIG. 5, the trunk portion 14 is a generallycylindrical tube having upper and lower ends 71 and 72, the lower endbeing adjacent a surface supporting the device, the tube having a wallthickness-73 as shown. The upper end has a series of peripherally spacedupper axial slots designated 75 through 80, one slot being provided foreach card holder. When the central axes of the trunk and crown portionsare aligned, each slot accepts a respective card holder to a depth of afew inches, thus locating the crown portion relative to the trunkportion. The lower end of the trunk has four peripherally spaced axialslots, positions of two slots 82 and 83 only being shown. Four legelements 85 through 88 extend radially from the trunk portion, adjacentleg elements being inclined equally to each other to produce a stablestand to support the device on the supporting surface and to maintainthe device generally vertical.

As shown mor clearly in FIG. 6 a leg portion 91 has the two leg elements85 and 87 extending therefrom, and a similar, but not identical, legportion 92 (FIG. 5 only) has the leg elements 86 and 88. The leg portion91 is a plane elongated sheet member having a thickness sufficient to beaccepted in the lower axial slots of the trunk portion, and has alower'edge94 to contact the supporting surface (not shown). An upperedge 96 of the sheet member has a pair of parallel transverse slots 98and 99 having sufficient width to accept the wall thickness of the trunkportion, the transverse slots being spaced at a diameter of the trunkportion. Thus when the transverse slots 98 and 99 accept the trunkportion, the leg portion extends diametrically across the trunk memberas shown in FIG. 5, and in broken outline in FIG. 6 where diametricallyopposed portions of the walls of the trunk portion are shown in brokenoutline. Lengths of the lower axial slots in the trunk member and thecorresponding tranverse slots of the leg portions are selected to bemutually compatible. As

shown, the length of one lower axial slot equals the length of onetransverse slot, which length equals onehalf of spacing 101 between theedges 94 and 96 of the sheet member. Other compatible slot lengths canbe selected so that the lower edges of the leg portions and the trunkmember simultaneously contact the supporting surface. An upwards facingcentral transverse slot 103 between the parallel transverse slots 98 and99 is complementary to a corresponding downwards facing centraltransverse slot (not shown) in the leg portion 92, position of thecorresponding slot relative to the leg portion 91 being shown in brokenoutline and designated 105. The central transverse slots also havecompatible slot lengths approximately equal to one-half of the spacing101, so that when the leg portions fit together the central transverseslots engage adjacent portions of the corresponding leg portions and thelower edges of the leg portions are co-planar.

FIG. 7

One of the pockets 30 on the card holder 18 has an outer wall member 113spaced from an inner wall 115 of the holder 18 by a spacer 117, thespacer having a thickness greater than maximum thickness of a card 118(broken outline) retained in the pocket between the member 113 and thewall 115. Other means of retaining cards on the card holders are known,and for convenience, are positioned so that pockets on opposed sides ofadjacent card holders are staggered to permit relatively flat folding ofthe crown portion, as previously described.

OPERATION The display device 10 is assembled by first unfolding the cardholders from a folded condition in which the card holders are relativelyparallel (not shown) to an extended position as shown in FIG. 1, withsector portions extended between adjacent corner portions if required.The leg portions 91 and 92 are fitted together so as to be mutuallyperpendicular, the portions being located by respective centraltransverse slots. The trunk portion is then fitted over the crossed legportions, the lower axial slots of the trunk portion being accepted inthe spaced parallel slots of the leg portions so that the lower end ofthe trunk portion and the lower edges of the leg portions are coplanar.The axes of the crown portion and trunk portions are then aligned andcard holders of the crown portion are inserted in slots of the upper endof the trunk portion until lower edges of the card holders bottom in theupper axial slots of the trunk portion.

Cards inserted in the pockets face outwards and can be easily removedand read, adjacent cards touching but not obstructing each other. A fourfoot high device provided with six card holders, each holder having sixpockets on each side, can display over one hundred average cards withoutmaterial obstruction and in a pleasing and orderly arrangement.

ALTERNATIVES AND EQUIVALENTS FIGS. 8 AND 9 An alternative crown portion121 has first, second and third crown panels 123, 124 and 125, eachpanel having two integral card holders similarly to the panels 39, 40and 41 of FIG. 1. The second panel is planar and sandwiched between thefirst and third panels, the three panels being secured together by firstand second spring clips, the clip 127 only to be described. The clip 127has two spaced fingers 129 and 130, the fingers being joined together bya U-shaped member 132 and are spaced sufficiently so as to clamptherebetween central portions of the three card panels. The panel 123has an elongated slot 134 positioned about mid-way between an apex and alower end of the crown portion and adjacent the central portion thereof.The crown panels 124 and 125 have similar slots, each slot beingpositioned relative to the panel so as to be in register withcorresponding slots in the adjacent panels when the crown portion isassembled, as shown in FIG. 9. The slots have a length sufficient topermit the first clip to pass through the elongated vertical slots ofthe panels when in register so that, when the three panels are clampedtogether, the clip 127 assumes a position as shown in FIG. 9. Lower endof the clip 127 has a tang 136 which facilitates fitting the clip.Thesecond spring clip (not shown) is generally similar to the first clipand is fitted to the apex of the crown portion so as to clamp togetherthe panels at the apex. The lower end of the crown is retained in analternative trunk portion as will be described with reference to FIGS.and 11.

FIGS. 10 and 11 Referring to FIG. 11, an alternative trunk portion 140has a central axis 142 and upper and lower ends 143 and 144. The upperend has a series of upper axial slots spaced peripherally therearound,two slots 146 and 147 only being shown, the slots accepting respectivecard holders similar to the slots 75 through 80 of FIG. 5. The lower endhas four peripherally spaced lower axial slots, three such slots 149,150 and 151 being shown. A leg portion 154 is fitted inside the trunkportion so that leg elements 156 and 157 thereof extend through theslots 149 and 151 of the trunk as shown. Other ends of the leg elementsare in contact with a supporting surface, shown as a broken line 160,which is also in contact with the lower end 144 of the trunk portion.

With reference to FIG. 10 the leg portion 154 has a pair of spacedfingers 162 and 163, the fingers adapted to grip a lower portion of thecard holders'(not shown) therebetween. The portion 154 has a diametricalshoulder 165 having outer portions and a midpoint, the fingers 162 and163 extending upwards from the midpoint. Axial members 167 and 168extend downwards from the outer portions of the shoulder to lower ends,the axial members being parallel and spaced apart a spacing 169, thelower ends being spaced from the shoulder portion by a distance 170 tobe described. The leg elements 156 and 157 extend outwards from thelower ends of the axialmembers, to ends in contact with the supportingsurface 160.

With reference to FIG. 11 the trunk portion 140 has a bore having asidewall 172 having a recessed portion 173. The recessed portion extendsupwards from an upper end of the lower axial slots a predetermineddistance to a shoulder 174, which distance defines axial length 175 ofthe recessed portion, and is equal to the distance 170 of FIG. 10, i.e.equal to length of the axial members. The recessed portion has adiameter 176 equal to the spacing 169 between outer portions of theaxial members 167 and 168 of FIG. 10. The leg portion 154 is fittedwithin the trunk portion 140 by inserting the fingers 162 and 163through the lower end of the trunk portion, the leg elements 156 and 157being accepted by slots 149 and 151 respectively. The axial members 167and 168 pass along the bore until slipping into the recessed portion 173as shown. Difference in diameter of the bore sidewall 172 and thediameter 176 provides positive location for the leg portion. When theleg portion is fitted in the base, the spaced fingers 162 and 163 can besprung apart sufficiently to clamp therebetween the card holders at thebase of the crown portion. A similar leg portion (not shown) issimilarly inserted within the bore, at to the portion 154,

spaced fingers of the similar leg'portion straddling the spaced fingers162 and 163. Thus the four spaced fingers of the two leg portions extendbetween four pairs of the six card holders of the crown portion. Goodresults have been obtained using leg portions of threesixteenths'of aninch mild steel rod or similar stiff wire.

When fitted, the lower end 144 of the trunk portion and the four ends ofthe leg elements are coplanar, thus providing a stable stand formaintaining the device generally vertical.

The alternative crown portion 121 is described for use with thealternative trunk portion 140. Clearly the crown portion 12 of FIG. 1can be used with the trunk portion and similarly, the crown portion 121can be used with the trunk portion 14 of FIG. 1.

I claim:

1. A greeting card display device having:

a. a, crown portion having a generally vertical central axis and aplurality of generally triangular shaped, planar cardv holders havingpockets to accepts cards, each holder extending radially in a respectivevertical plane from an inner portion thereof adjacent the central axisto a downwardly and outwardly extending sloping outer portion, each cardholder being inclined at an angle to adjacent card holders, the holdersbeing secured together at the central axis to simulate a crown of atree,

b. a generally cylindrical trunk portion having a central axis and upperand lower ends, the upper end having a series of peripherally spacedupper axial slots, each slot accepting a respective card holder when thecentral axes of the trunk and the crown portion are aligned, the lowerend of the trunk portion having four peripherally spaced lower axialslots,

c. a pair of leg portions, each leg portion being within a verticalplane and having a pair of opposite leg elements, each leg portionhaving a thickness sufficient to be'accepted in the lower axial slots ofthe trunk portion so that when the device is assembled with the legportions retained in the trunk portion, four'leg elements extendradially from the trunk portion with adjacent leg elements beinginclined equally to each other to produce a stable stand for supportingthe device on a supporting surface to maintain the device generallyvertical.

2. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which thecrown portion includes:

i. first, second and third crown panels, each panel having two integralcard holders, the second panel being planar and sandwiched between thefirst and third panels, the three panels being secured together atcentral portions thereof, the first and third panels being folded alongthe central portion so that the card holders of each panel are inclinedto each other, so that when the crown portion is assembled a particularcard holder is inclined at approximately 60 to adjacent card holders. 3.A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 2 in which:

i. the first and third panels are hinged to the second panel. 4. Agreeting card display device as claimed in claim 3 in which:

i. the central portions of the first and third panels have two rows ofspaced parallel longitudinal slits, the slits being staggered, an end ofa slit in one row being joined by a transverse slit to an end of anadjacent slit in the opposite row, to form integral staggered hingedflaps extending outwards from inner portions of each card holder, theflaps being secured to the second panel adjacent the central portionthereof.

5. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 2 in which thecrown panels are secured together by first and second spring clips,wherein:

i. the first spring clip has two spaced fingers, the fingers beingspaced so as to clamp therebetween the central portions of the threepanels,

ii. a second spring clip generally similar to the first clip and fittedto an apex of the crown portion so as to clamp together upper ends ofthe crown panels,

iii. each crown panel has an elongated vertical slot adjacent thecentral portion thereof, the slot being positioned so as to be inregister with corresponding slots in adjacent panels when the crownportion is assembled, each slot having a length sufficient to permit thefirst clip to pass through the three elongated vertical slots of thepanels when in register, so as to secure the panels together at thecentral portions thereof.

6. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which i. thetrunk portion is tubular and has a wall having a thickness, and each legportion has:

ii. a plane elongated sheet member having a lower edge to contact thesupporting surface, and an upper edge having a pair of paralleltransverse slots having sufficient width to accept walls of the trunkportion, the transverse slots being spaced at a diameter of the trunkportion so that the lower slots of the trunk portion accept thetransverse slots and the sheet member extends diametrically across thetrunk member,

iii. a central transverse slot between the pair of parallel transverseslots, which slot has a length compatible with a correspondingtransverse slot in the corresponding leg portion, and the slot has awidth sufficient to accept thickness of the corresponding leg portion,so that when the leg portions are fitted together, the centraltransverse slots engage adjacent portions of the corresponding legportions, andthe lower edges of the leg portions are coplanar. 7. Agreeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which:

i. the trunk portion has a bore, the bore having a recessed portionextending upwards from an upper end of the lower axial slots apredetermined distance to a shoulder, which distance defines axiallength of the recessed portion,

ii. each leg portion includes; a pair of spaced fingers at an upper end,the fingers adapted to grip a lower portion of the card holderstherebetween, a diametrical shoulder having outer portions, the fingersextending upwards from a midpoint of the diametrical shoulder; spacedparallel axial members extending downwards from the outer portions ofthe shoulder, the axial members having lower ends spaced from theshoulder portion a distance equal to the axial length of the recessedportion; leg elements extending outwards from the lower end of the axialmembers, so that when the leg portions are mutually perpendicular toeach other and are fitted inside the trunk portion, the leg elements areadjacent upper ends of, and extend through, the lower axial slots of thetrunk portion, the axial members extend within the recessed portion ofthe bore, the diametrical shoulder portion is adjacent the shoulder ofthe recessed portion, and the fingers extend from the upper end of thetrunk portion to accept the crown portion.

8. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 7 in which:

i. the leg elements are made from stiff wire. 9. A greeting card displaydevice as claimed in claim 1 further including:

d. a sector portion having a pair of edges inclined at an angle equal tothe angle between adjacent card holders, the edges diverging from asector apex adjacent the central axis of the crown portion, one edgebeing hinged to one card holder, the opposite edge being in contact withthe adjacent card holder, so that the sector portion spaces adajcentpanels apart so that the panels are restricted against relative hinging.

10. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which:

i. the pockets on one side of the card holder are staggered relative topockets on an opposed side of an adjacent holder, so that when the crownportion is folded for storage and adjacent card holders contact eachother, there is negligible interference between pockets on opposed sidesof card holders, thus producing a relatively compactly folded crownportion.

1. A greeting card display device having: a. a crown portion having agenerally vertical central axis and a plurality of generally triangularshaped, planar card holders having pockets to accepts cards, each holderextending radially in a respective vertical plane from an inner portionthereof adjacent the central axis to a downwardly and outwardlyextending sloping outer portion, each card holder being inclined at anangle to adjacent card holders, the holders being secured together atthe central axis to simulate a crown of a tree, b. a generallycylindrical trunk portion having a central axis and upper and lowerends, the upper end having a series of peripherally spaced upper axialslots, each slot accepting a respective card holder when the centralaxes of the trunk and the crown portion are aligned, the lower end ofthe trunk portion having four peripherally spaced lower axial slots, c.a pair of leg portions, each leg portion being withiN a vertical planeand having a pair of opposite leg elements, each leg portion having athickness sufficient to be accepted in the lower axial slots of thetrunk portion so that when the device is assembled with the leg portionsretained in the trunk portion, four leg elements extend radially fromthe trunk portion with adjacent leg elements being inclined equally toeach other to produce a stable stand for supporting the device on asupporting surface to maintain the device generally vertical.
 2. Agreeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which the crownportion includes: i. first, second and third crown panels, each panelhaving two integral card holders, the second panel being planar andsandwiched between the first and third panels, the three panels beingsecured together at central portions thereof, the first and third panelsbeing folded along the central portion so that the card holders of eachpanel are inclined to each other, so that when the crown portion isassembled a particular card holder is inclined at approximately 60* toadjacent card holders.
 3. A greeting card display device as claimed inclaim 2 in which: i. the first and third panels are hinged to the secondpanel.
 4. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 3 in which:i. the central portions of the first and third panels have two rows ofspaced parallel longitudinal slits, the slits being staggered, an end ofa slit in one row being joined by a transverse slit to an end of anadjacent slit in the opposite row, to form integral staggered hingedflaps extending outwards from inner portions of each card holder, theflaps being secured to the second panel adjacent the central portionthereof.
 5. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 2 inwhich the crown panels are secured together by first and second springclips, wherein: i. the first spring clip has two spaced fingers, thefingers being spaced so as to clamp therebetween the central portions ofthe three panels, ii. a second spring clip generally similar to thefirst clip and fitted to an apex of the crown portion so as to clamptogether upper ends of the crown panels, iii. each crown panel has anelongated vertical slot adjacent the central portion thereof, the slotbeing positioned so as to be in register with corresponding slots inadjacent panels when the crown portion is assembled, each slot having alength sufficient to permit the first clip to pass through the threeelongated vertical slots of the panels when in register, so as to securethe panels together at the central portions thereof.
 6. A greeting carddisplay device as claimed in claim 1 in which i. the trunk portion istubular and has a wall having a thickness, and each leg portion has: ii.a plane elongated sheet member having a lower edge to contact thesupporting surface, and an upper edge having a pair of paralleltransverse slots having sufficient width to accept walls of the trunkportion, the transverse slots being spaced at a diameter of the trunkportion so that the lower slots of the trunk portion accept thetransverse slots and the sheet member extends diametrically across thetrunk member, iii. a central transverse slot between the pair ofparallel transverse slots, which slot has a length compatible with acorresponding transverse slot in the corresponding leg portion, and theslot has a width sufficient to accept thickness of the corresponding legportion, so that when the leg portions are fitted together, the centraltransverse slots engage adjacent portions of the corresponding legportions, and the lower edges of the leg portions are coplanar.
 7. Agreeting card display device as claimed in claim 1 in which: i. thetrunk portion has a bore, the bore having a recessed portion extendingupwards from an upper end of the lower axial slots a predetermineddistance to a shoulder, which distance defines axial length of therecessed portion, ii. each leg portion includes; a pair of spacedfingers at an upper end, the fingers adapted to grip a lower portion ofthe card holders therebetween, a diametrical shoulder having outerportions, the fingers extending upwards from a midpoint of thediametrical shoulder; spaced parallel axial members extending downwardsfrom the outer portions of the shoulder, the axial members having lowerends spaced from the shoulder portion a distance equal to the axiallength of the recessed portion; leg elements extending outwards from thelower end of the axial members, so that when the leg portions aremutually perpendicular to each other and are fitted inside the trunkportion, the leg elements are adjacent upper ends of, and extendthrough, the lower axial slots of the trunk portion, the axial membersextend within the recessed portion of the bore, the diametrical shoulderportion is adjacent the shoulder of the recessed portion, and thefingers extend from the upper end of the trunk portion to accept thecrown portion.
 8. A greeting card display device as claimed in claim 7in which: i. the leg elements are made from stiff wire.
 9. A greetingcard display device as claimed in claim 1 further including: d. a sectorportion having a pair of edges inclined at an angle equal to the anglebetween adjacent card holders, the edges diverging from a sector apexadjacent the central axis of the crown portion, one edge being hinged toone card holder, the opposite edge being in contact with the adjacentcard holder, so that the sector portion spaces adajcent panels apart sothat the panels are restricted against relative hinging.
 10. A greetingcard display device as claimed in claim 1 in which: i. the pockets onone side of the card holder are staggered relative to pockets on anopposed side of an adjacent holder, so that when the crown portion isfolded for storage and adjacent card holders contact each other, thereis negligible interference between pockets on opposed sides of cardholders, thus producing a relatively compactly folded crown portion.